My friends,

I need your help.

I am raising funds for my Special Olympics East Valley Golf program. We have 35 Special Olympics golfers that have a passion for playing golf. Each athlete plays on a team, typically with a parent or good friend, year round at many challenging courses in Arizona. This year we will be playing at Sun City CC, Omni National in Tucson, Antelope Hills in Prescott, Longbow in Mesa, Oak Creek CC in Sedona, Augusta Ranch in Mesa, and TPC Scottsdale. All of the funds raised will go to support this special year round golf program. These funds also enable us to participate in the Special Olympics National Invitational Golf Tournament if we are lucky enough to be selected. The National Tournament is 3 days and, like the PGA, we cannot use golf carts. So it can be very challenging.

I am a native Arizonan and have attended Gilbert Schools for all of my years: Juniper Elementary, Houston Elementary, Mesquite JR HS, and Mesquite HS. I have been involved in sports my entire life. Playing basketball as well as being equipment manager for the Mesquite High School Football from 2009-2013 is a few of my highlights. I received special recognition in October 2010 and was nominated by the coaching and administration staff as being Student of the Month for all of Mesquite High School sophomore class. In 2013, I also received a letter for Community Service, having donated 145+ hours of time toward giving back. I graduated in 2013 and have since worked at Culvers in Mesa. In my spare time, I like to stay active as well as annoy my sister Jordan. I have recently joined the East Valley Golf Program to participate in something I have not played in before and look forward to the challenge. I am given this opportunity thanks to the Special Olympics, and appreciate in advance your consideration for donating to this worthwhile cause. Not only does your donation go to a great cause, those that are top pledge recipients receive a chance to join the putting contest at the 2016 Waste Management Open in Scottsdale. Again, thanks for your consideration.

How can you help?

The Thunderbirds have given us a great opportunity to raise funds by matching all donations by an additional 10%. One hundred percent of the funds stay in our Special Olympics golf program and enable us to continue to play golf and improve our game. Your help comes from sponsoring me with a one time donation, or  a Pledge per Birdie for the 4 days of the Tournament.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Damerik